


The Curse of The Past

by Miniclips756



Category: Metro 2033 - All Media Types
Genre: Karil, Mutants, Nuclear Winter, The Underground, Thriller, metro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-19 00:23:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1448479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miniclips756/pseuds/Miniclips756
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Karil lives as a soldier, in this barren land scarred by war, he looks to find light in the darkness of his own life. Leaving behind a worried mother every day, he relives his past while struggling through the present. Survive is the only thing that he can do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curse of The Past

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoys the story. My apologies for any spelling errors or something in these fashions. Also a shout out to the people who recognise the origin of the name of our hero, Karil. The story is far by done and I will add more text as time passes. Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 1

As shivers ran down his spine, the reflection of the gloomy sun shone bright in his glasses. What looked like an eternity was merely a few seconds. But it still happened. And he couldn't do anything about it.

Karil was still a young man, torn by war and scarred by the things he had witnessed. He was handsome, with his dark brown hair en blue eyes, something that wasn't very common nowadays. His mother always told him to be proud of his eyes. 'They are the last part that reminds me of your father', she said in her always meek voice. They never had much wealth, but always enough to survive. And that was what Karil had promised his mother. Survive.

Panting for air, he slid down against a crooked wall and straightend his gasmask. Twenty minutes, then his filter was empty. He had to move quickly, seeing as the safe harbour was far from his reach. The high pitched roar of the beasts outside quickely startled him from his thoughts. He checked the cartridge on his old Garant, the sole present he ever got from his father. It was a weapon of value, highly durable and with great firing capacity. The ammo was sparse and expensive, making it even more important for Karil to not waste any. He took a quick look outside and saw that his fear had come true: the beasts were circling his hideout. Their white eyes and red pupils, the sharp teeth that ground bones to dust and agile hairless bodies struck fear in his heart, They were called lanchers, and those unfortunate enough to meet these mutilated beasts almost never lived to tell the tale. But Karil wasn't afraid, he had faced these fiends before and he had come home. The lanchers were fast beasts, but the sun was their downfall: the reflection on their skins gave their position away. Now to only hit them, Karil thought. He threw another look outside and was surprised: the beasts were gone. But Karil knew better. He got to his feet as silently as he could and moved a few steps back. He loaded the barrel of his gun and readied it against his shoulder, ready for any movement that would get in his sight. It was dead silent, he could hear his own breathing through his mask. Fifteen minutes, read the meter. He had to decide fast.

The barren wastelands of Drent were empty, cold and haunted. The tall buildings were falling apart. Small pools filled with ghastly looking water were common, the howls of inhuman creatures echoing through the streets. It had been ten years since the war. Not a single spot had been spared from the destruction that had fallen. The mutants came fast, disformed beasts created by radiation. They came in different sizes: from small vermin to huge flying beasts. They ruled the surface from the beginning, forcing humanity that had survived the war to retreat to the underground. The luxury that many had known was gone in a few moments. Now, humanity lived in bare conditions, struggling to survive. Militia protected their safe havens from beasts that had found their way inside the underground, relying on the technicians and merchants to sell them weapons and ammunition. There was no money in this world, where the only known currency was ammunition. Then there were the scavengers. The people that were daring (and often stupid) enough to go back to the surface and gather whatever seemed useful. Scraps of metal, bones, even the remains of lost souls who perished in the barren lands were stripped from their possessions. Most of the time they came back empty handed, only wasting precious filters for their gasmasks to protect them from the air they breathed in their lungs. But they were all doomed to go back to the surface and once again risk their lives, to scavenge what was left of the once succesful world they lived in. The same world they destroyed.

Karil waited another two minutes, still hearing nothing. He had no choice but go outside and hastly make his way to the harbour. He lowered his gun and silently walked outside, trying to make as little sound as possible. The sun still stood high in the sky. 'At least I don't have to worry about night falling', he sighed to himself. Going up by day light was dangerous enough, but he knew well enough what kind of monsters awoke at night. He followed the path back to the plane wreck in the middle of the road, looking behind his back every few seconds. Arriving at the wreckage, Karil heard a faint noise and instantly threw himself to the ground. His instincts had yet again saved his life: a huge winged beast missed him by an inch. But he knew that wasn't the end of it. Ignoring the dirt on his mask, he ran past the wreck and went inside the building next to it. Eight minutes left. He had to hurry.

\--

Elia was a docile woman. The first signs of age were starting to appear, but that didn't hinder her true beauty. She was an exception in the station: long brown hair, deep green eyes, a few wrinkles on her forehead and hands that weren't damaged by hard labour. She had always taken care of her son, never having to worry about food or clothing. Losing her husband to the beasts, she feared the same fate was awaiting her son. Her disdain was not without reason when Karil came to her and told her the news. 'I've been accepted as a ranger. My training starts tomorrow', he gently said. His mother immediately saw the guilt in his eyes. She knew him too well. 

'Absolutely not. Those trainings are inhuman, they treat their men like animals!' 

'Mother, that's not true. They give everyone the same chances to grow, to make it up the ranks and to defend those who they love.'

'I don't want to loose you Karil. There are other things in the world that you can do'! Elia was getting fed up. She knew from the start she couldn't stop him. 

'I have to do this mother. This is my only chance.'

'You'll end up just like your father. And I will have lost everything I lived for. You are throwing away everything I gave you..'

Hearing these words, Karil froze. His mother had never spoken of his father until now. After the men in black suits came to tell her the news, she changed. Losing her husband was like losing a part of herself. She became more bitter, the lively glow she had in her eyes dissapeared. But she kept going for her son. And Karil knew she was afraid to lose him too. Quickly recovering his balance, he left his mother and went to his own room. He took the few things that belonged to him alone and put them in a bag: a picture of his mother, a few cartridges and his most priced item: a M1 Garand. It was the sole item his father had left him, destined to be given to him when he turned 18. But he got it much sooner. Today he already knew how to handle it, his father taught him at a young age how to handle fire weapons.


End file.
